A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF PUBLIC
RESOURCES TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF AN ELECTION"

1. Statement of legislative intent. The legislature finds
that those public employees and elected officials who are entrusted
with the strings to the public purse and who use public resources under
their trust to influence the outcome of an election have used public
resources for a personal and unauthorized purpose. Both the
proponents and opponents of an issue or candidate at election have an
equal stake in any public resources used to inform the public about the
contest, therefore, any use of public resources must be neutral, or
balanced, or both. Public funds and public resources may not be
used to take sides in elections. Any person who uses public
resources to take sides in an election does so as a personal act, not
an official act.

2. Any public employee or elected official who uses, orders the
use of, authorizes the use of, or knowingly tolerates the use of,
public resources in a manner that has the effect of soliciting support
for or opposition to any candidate or ballot issue has violated the
provisions of this section.

3. Public resources include public funds, postage paid for at
public expense, printing and copy machines and supplies paid for at
public expense, public employee time while on the job and at the place
of work, telephone or other communication services paid for at public
expense, use of computers or vehicles paid for at public expense, or
other resources paid for by public funds. Public funds include
tax revenues or fees levied by the state or any of its political
subdivisions, or any other funds that accrue to the state or any of its
political subdivisions in exchange for services, benefits, permissions,
or otherwise.

4. Any public employee or elected public official illegally using
public resources under this section has committed official misconduct,
and must be prosecuted for official misconduct by the county attorney
of the county where the offense may occur. Under such prosecution
for official misconduct, the county attorney must request necessary
orders from the court compelling the public employee or elected
official to reimburse the public treasury for funds or resources
misappropriated.

5. Any person with knowledge that a public employee or elected
official has misappropriated public resources under this section may
file a civil action against the accused public employee or elected
official to require reimbursement of the public treasury by the accused
employee or official A public employee or elected official
defendant in such action may not have the costs of their legal defense
paid for by public funds. The prevailing party in such action
shall be entitled to collect reasonable court costs and attorneyâ€™s fees
from the other party upon conclusion of the action.

6. This section may not be construed to:

a. prevent any public employee from participating in support for
or opposition to any candidate or ballot issue when the employee is
using non-public resources and when off his job and away from his place
of work; or

b. prevent any elected official from supporting or opposing any
candidate or ballot issue in any way that does not involve the
consumption of public resources; or

c. prevent the dissemination of information about candidates or
ballot issues, paid for at public expense, where such information is
neutral or balanced, and does not tend to solicit support for or
opposition to any candidate or ballot issue; or

d. prevent the use of public facilities for candidate debates or
debates about ballot issues where all candidates for a particular
office, or both proponents and opponents of a ballot issue, are
afforded equal opportunity to appear and benefit from such use of
public facilities.

7. The prohibition against use of public resources begins:

a. in relation to any candidate, when that candidate announces publicly, or files, for public office., and

b. in relation to any ballot issue, when the proponents of a
ballot issue file the proposed ballot issue with the secretary of state
or county elections office in application for approval to begin
circulating petitions.